MEDIA RELEASE 
April 14, 2026 
 

BCGEU files unfair labour practices complaint against Western Pacific Marine

BURNABY, B.C. (Coast Salish Territories) – The BCGEU, representing the unionized workers at the Kootenay Lake ferries, has filed an unfair labour practice complaint at the Labour Relations Board (LRB). The BCGEU takes the position that Western Pacific Marine has refused to sign and implement the terms of the Collective Agreement that members ratified on June 30^th, 2025.
 
The complaint was filed under sections 6(1) and 49(3) of the BC Labour Code. Western Pacific Marine has failed to pay the retroactive pay owed and has not implemented new items in the collective agreement, including day-to-day scheduling, benefit increases and shift differentials.
"In the last round of bargaining, ferry workers fought for and secured a contract that would ensure the long-term survival of safe, reliable ferry service for the ferry-dependent communities," said Sebastian Kallos, BCGEU Vice-President, Component 20, Environment, Technical and Operations. 
 
The new contract was the result of a full year of negotiations between the union and the company, followed by mediation to secure the final agreement. Arbitrator Vince Ready's decision on the terms of the collective agreement (subject to ratification by members) issued in his binding recommendations on June 10, 2025.
 
"The Labour Code is clear: once an agreement is ratified by members, then the agreement comes into full force and effect", said Paul Finch, BCGEU President. "Our members have the right to have their ratified agreement respected by their employer, Western Pacific Marine." 
 
BCGEU and Western Pacific Marine entered mediation in April 2025 after a months-long labour dispute. In June, Arbitrator Vince Ready delivered binding recommendations for a new contract with better wages and working conditions and a day-for-day scheduling system. Both measures are necessary to end staffing shortages that lead to ferry cancellations and would allow for expanded sailing times that the community has been lobbying for.
 
The new agreement is effective April 1^st, 2024, to March 31st, 2028. Western Pacific Marine manages and operates a ferry transportation system on behalf of the BC Ministry of Transportation, with their contract renewal due in 2028. BCGEU members that work at Western Pacific Marine include masters, mates, engineers, deckhands, cable ferry operators, terminal attendants, and marine clerks
 
The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in British Columbia, with over 95,000 members in almost every community and economic sector. 
 
BCGEU Component 20 Vice-President Sebastian Kallos is available for further comment.
 
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Media contact: 
Susan Howatt | BCGEU Communications 

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